By Ed Carty. Last Updated 24th July 2024. If you have been harmed in a road traffic accident caused by the negligence of another road user, you may be wondering about the car accident claim payouts that can be awarded. You could make a personal injury claim for compensation in these circumstances.
In this guide, we’ll discuss car accident compensation payouts as well as claims for whiplash payouts. We’ll also answer commonly asked questions on road traffic accident claims, such as:
- What is the average payout for car accidents?
- What is the time limit that applies to making a claim?
- How much could I be owed?
Our advisors are available to help you with any queries 24/7. Additionally, if you were seeking compensation for a car accident, an advisor could connect you to one of the personal injury solicitors from our panel.
To get in touch, you can:
- Call the phone number at the top of this page
- Use our live chat feature for an instant response
- Contact us using our online form
Choose A Section
- How Are Car Accident Claim Payouts Calculated?
- Can I Make A Car Accident Claim?
- Car Accident Compensation Case Study
- How Do Car Accidents Happen?
- What Evidence Could Help My Car Accident Claim Payout?
- Claim Compensation With A No Win No Fee Solicitor
- More Information On Car Accident Claim Payouts
How Are Car Accident Claim Payouts Calculated?
When calculating car accident claim payouts, if you have suffered an injury valued at £5,000 or less, the Whiplash Reform Programme has introduced changes to how you claim. You must now claim through an online portal.
Your claim will be valued based on a fixed tariff of compensation introduced by the government in the Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021. You only need to claim through the online portal if you’re a driver or passenger of a vehicle who is over the age of 18.
If your claim doesn’t need to be made through this portal, the compensation relating to the loss of amenity caused by your injuries may be worked out using the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This head of your claim is called general damages.
We have taken compensation ranges from the 16th edition to give you an idea of what you might receive for a car accident settlement. Please remember the figures below are just guidelines.
| Injury | Compensation Ranges | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Numerous Severe Injuries Plus Significant Financial Losses and Costs | Up to £1,000,000+ | Compensation awarded for pain and suffering caused by numerous serious injuries. Additionally, the payout accounts for financial damages like lost earnings and prescription fees. |
| Very Severe Injury Resulting from Brain Damage | £344,150 to £493,000 | The level of the award within this bracket may be influenced by the extent of any behavioural problems or the extent of physical limitations. |
| Severe (i) Back Injuries | £111,150 to £196,450 | Some cases may involve damage to the spinal cord and nerve roots, subsequently leading to serious consequences. |
| Minor (i) Back Injuries | £9,630 to £15,260 | A full recovery is expected without surgery and within two to five years. |
| Chest Injuries (A) | £122,850 to £183,190 | Total removal of one lung and/or serious heart damage. |
| Severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder | £73,050 to £122,850 | All aspects of your life may be badly affected permanently and you might be unable to work. |
| Severe Knee Injuries (i) | £85,100 to £117,410 | The joint in your knee will have been disrupted and lengthy treatment will be required. |
| Severe Shoulder Injuries | £23,430 to £58,610 | Serious brachial plexus injuries may cause severe neck and arm symptoms. |
| Whiplash Tariff | £4,345 | Whiplash paired with psychological injuries lasting between 18 to 24 months. |
| Whiplash Tariff | £4,215 | Whiplash injuries lasting more than 18 months but less than 24 months, |
Special Damages Following A Car Accident
The car accident compensation examples taken from the JCG above don’t include special damages. This head of claim covers the financial losses you’ve experienced as a result of your injuries.
For example, if you were paralysed in a car accident, this could mean you are unable to continue working your current job. In this case, the special damages head of your claim could include current and future lost earnings. This can significantly ease the financial burden of your injuries.
This heading of car accident claim payouts can also cover the cost of:
- Prescriptions.
- Childcare.
- Physical therapy and rehabilitation.
- Mobility aids, like a wheelchair or crutches.
- Home adjustments, like the installation of a stair lift.
- Help with cooking and cleaning.
- Professional nursing care.
- Travel to and from appointments.
The examples above only cover a few of the expenses that special damages can cover. However, regardless of the financial losses you are claiming for, you will need to provide evidence of them. This evidence could include payslips, bank statements and invoices.
To learn more about the compensation you could receive, or to find out if you could be eligible for car accident compensation, get in touch with our friendly team today.
Can I Make A Car Accident Claim?
All road users owe one another a duty of care. This is set out in the Road Traffic Act 1988 (RTA). The steps that road users are expected to take to ensure their own safety, as well as the safety of others, can be found in the Highway Code.
If another road user has breached this duty of care, and you’ve been injured as a result, then you may be able to claim. This guide will explain the evidence that you can use to support your claim for compensation.
You might want to work with a solicitor when making a claim. However, doing so can cause you to incur large upfront or ongoing fees if you fund their work in the usual way. For this reason, we explain No Win No Fee agreements and the benefits that they can offer claimants.
To find out if you are eligible to claim, speak to an advisor via our live chat function. They can offer you a free consultation of your claim with no obligation to use our services afterwards.
Car Accident Compensation Case Study
You may be wondering what sort of experience would lead to a claim and what a car accident payout can look like. This illustrative case study is an example based on the many years our panel’s solicitors have spent handling different cases.
Ms Sharma was injured in a car that was struck in a T-bone collision by a drunk driver who lost control of their car. The collision caused her to suffer serious head and neck injuries, as well as a knee fracture that left her in permanent pain and discomfort.
It also left Ms Sharma feeling serious distress and fear of going outside. She was therefore unable to go back to work and left her job, which meant she struggled at first to pay her bills.
Additionally, Ms Sharma faced years of rehabilitation and the awareness that she would never fully recover. With this in mind, she took on the services of a trained solicitor to pursue a compensation claim.
The passenger of the car Ms Sharma was in provided a witness statement and she was able to recover dashcam footage of the incident. This, alongside the independent medical assessment and other evidence the solicitor helped her collect, led to her winning the case.
Ultimately, Ms Sharma received over £700,000 in compensation. This accounted not only for the injuries, but expenses including her loss of earnings, physiotherapy and psychotherapy fees, and the cost of transport as she could not drive for over a year. The solicitor also managed to secure interim payments which had allowed Ms Sharma to pay her bills while the case was ongoing.
If you would like to receive further car accident compensation examples or discuss your own experience to learn whether you have a potentially actionable case, you can contact our advisors.
How Do Car Accidents Happen?
A breach of duty of care on the road could cause an accident in which you’re injured. As a result, you might be entitled to claim. Below, we’ve provided examples of how a breach of duty of care on the road
- A motorcycle rider may drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs, meaning that their reaction times are delayed. As a result, they hit you while you’re crossing the road.
- A bus driver may be driving over the speed limit and lose control of the vehicle. The bus may then swerve into a cycle lane and knock you off your bike, resulting in a head injury that leads to brain damage.
- Another driver fails to leave a safe stopping distance from you, and as a result, hits the back of your vehicle when you come to a stop. This causes you to sustain a neck injury
We would advise that you contact us as soon as possible as there is a timeframe for starting a car accident claim. Typically, the time limit is three years from when you sustained your injury or realised it was caused by another road user’s act of negligence.
Some exceptions can apply, however. Get in touch with our team for more information on receiving car accident claim payouts.
What Evidence Could Help My Car Accident Claim Payout?
There are no maximum car accident claim payouts; all compensation is valued based on your individual circumstances. For this reason, we recommend collecting evidence that you can use to support your case. When you seek medical attention following an injury, any notes from the doctor or hospital records could be used to demonstrate how you were impacted.
Other key forms of evidence that we would advise you to collect include:
- CCTV footage or dash cam footage, if possible
- Photographs or video footage of your injuries and where the accident occurred, plus of any other vehicles that were involved
- Witness contact details, so that a statement can be taken at a later date
You might be asked to go to an independent medical assessment to provide evidence for your claim. If you choose to work with a solicitor from our panel, they might be able to arrange this in your local area. Speak to an advisor to find out more.
Claim Compensation With A No Win No Fee Solicitor
You might want to fund the work of a lawyer through a No Win No Fee agreement when pursuing car accident claim payouts. A solicitor can offer advice and guidance about factors like when to accept or reject an offer of compensation. They can also ensure that all aspects of your claim are addressed; this is important as you cannot go back and claim again if you missed something the first time.
A No Win No Fee Agreement means your solicitor won’t ask for an upfront fee or any ongoing fees as the claim progresses. Instead, you pay your solicitor a success fee if your claim is successful. The success fee is legally capped at 25%.
If your claim isn’t a success, you don’t pay your lawyer for their services. Get in touch now to see if you could be offered this kind of agreement.
Get Advice On Car Accident Claim Payouts
If you would like to check your eligibility to claim, you can contact us through the following methods:
- Call the phone number at the top of this page
- Use our live chat feature for an instant response
- Contact us using our online form
More Information On Car Accident Claim Payouts
To help you understand more about car accident claim payouts, we wanted to share some additional resources with you:
Report a road traffic incident – How to report car accidents to the police.
Whiplash – NHS guidance on whiplash symptoms.
Think! – Find out about the government’s road safety campaigns.
That concludes our guide on claiming car accident claim payouts. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have more questions.